


A Friend in Need

by tehfanglyfish



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, First Time, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Masturbation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-18
Updated: 2019-05-18
Packaged: 2020-03-07 12:31:45
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,964
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18873274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tehfanglyfish/pseuds/tehfanglyfish
Summary: Arthur becomes frustrated while waiting on his hands to heal from an injury. Merlin offers to help.





	A Friend in Need

**Author's Note:**

> Written only for fun and not for profit.

“Here, Arthur, I brought you your…”

“Don’t you ever knock?!”

“Sorry! I just didn’t want your food to get… oh.”

Merlin trailed off as he realized what Arthur had been doing when he barged in the king’s chambers. Caught in the act, Arthur lay on his bed, his bandaged hands pressed against a very conspicuous bulge in the fabric of his breeches.

Merlin stared momentarily, realized what he was doing, and redirected his eyes to the floor. He should leave. He really should. It was the only appropriate thing to do in this situation. George wouldn’t have stayed this long. Of course, George would never have walked in on the wounded king’s wank session anyway, what with George being the kind of servant who was known to practice decorum like knocking before entering a room. Merlin tried to make his feet move. He failed.

Arthur sighed and sat up.

“Put the food down, Merlin. You look even more idiotic than usual standing there holding it.”

Looking straight ahead and most definitely not at Arthur, Merlin shuffled to the king’s dining table with the tureen he was carrying.

“Soup again, I see. Wonderful.”

“It’s beef this time. I know you were getting bored with chicken.”

“Well things are certainly looking up, aren’t they?” Arthur raged. “Beef soup for dinner. That fixes everything. It’s enough to make me forget how that enchanted sword burned my hands and so I’ve had to spend the past week essentially confined to my bed because Gaius is worried about after effects of the spell. It’s a whole new day, Merlin. I won’t possibly remember that I can’t train or that I can barely use the chamber pot alone. Now that the soup is beef, I will completely forget that the reason I’ve been eating nothing but soup for the past seven days is because a spoon is about all I’m capable of wielding with these damned bandages. I mean, I can’t even wank on my own but beef soup instead of chicken makes it all better.”

The outburst over, Arthur fell back against the bed.

“Sire, I’m sorry…”

“Hush, Merlin. This isn’t your fault and I shouldn’t have lashed out like that.  You may go.”

Merlin turned toward the door, then hesitated.

“I know you’re frustrated and… I could help. If you’d like… I mean, since your hands are… and you can’t…”

“Merlin, I realize that you perform many personal duties for me in your capacity as my servant, but I will not allow you to feed me. I’d rather eat soup for the rest of my life than compromise my dignity any further.”

“That’s… that’s not what I meant.”

“I don’t understand.”

“I could help with…” Merlin took a deep breath. “The other bit.”

“The chamber pot? Out of the question. If I won’t let you feed me then I’ll definitely not…”

“No, you simpleton! The wanking.”

Both men froze. A moment passed. Then another. Finally, Arthur spoke.

“I’m not that kind of king, Merlin. To demand that you… I would never make a servant…”

“You’re not demanding. I’m offering. And not as your servant but as your friend. It would just be a friend. Helping a friend.”

Silence fell on the room as Arthur considered what Merlin had said. So many kings and nobles took advantage of their servants, something that had always repulsed Arthur.  He remembered cringing at Uther’s boasts about “the temptations of serving girls.” It was true that Arthur and Merlin shared a friendship that eluded most kings and their servants but that in itself made Arthur wary about accepting.

Arthur had long since come to realize and accept that the feelings he held for Merlin surpassed anything that one could call strictly platonic. What began as fascination and amusement morphed into lust, then grew into affection and attachment. Put plainly, the king was in love. Of course he’d never told this to Merlin and had no intention of doing so. Merlin couldn’t possibly reciprocate his feelings. And anyway, Arthur held far too much power for a servant to freely enter into such a relationship.

Except here they were, Merlin offering a helping hand as it were, with no hints or prompting from the king. Just a genuine willingness to, ahem, help. Arthur couldn’t deny that he was tempted. It would be wrong on so many levels – the power imbalance, the king’s hidden feelings – those were two very good reasons why this should not happen. And yet Arthur wanted Merlin. After years of aching for him with no hope of having him, Arthur found his resolve failing.

“Fine. Get on with it.” He tried to sound nonchalant but his voice croaked out the words, something Merlin noticed. The insolent bastard gave the king a cheeky grin as he approached Arthur’s bed.

“Lie down. Get comfortable.”

Merlin adjusted the pillows behind Arthur’s head, stepped out of his boots, then climbed on the bed beside the king.

His hands reached for the laces of Arthur’s breeches.

Gods above, this is actually happening, thought Arthur. He inhaled sharply as he felt the laces loosen, the sound breaking Merlin’s momentary bravado.

“If you’ll just ease up a bit.” Merlin’s voice wavered slightly but before Arthur could say anything, Merlin pulled down his breeches and small clothes.

While it was true that he had been naked in front of Merlin in the past, this time it was different. Arthur felt a bit embarrassed, very exposed, and more aroused than he’d ever been in his entire life. Unsure of what to do, he stared up at the canopy over his bed, trying to control his breathing as he waited for Merlin to make the next move.

After an eternity of a few seconds, Arthur felt Merlin’s trembling fingers wrap gently around his cock. He couldn’t help it. He moaned.

I may die, Arthur thought. This may be what kills me.

Clearly the moment was also having an effect on Merlin. Though his hand had calmed, his breathing was shaky.

“If it helps, close your eyes and think of Mithian or Gwen or…” Merlin rasped. Then his hand began to move, stroking Arthur. Slowly and tentatively at first, but then, his grip tightening in response to Arthur’s gasps, more rapidly.

Ignoring Merlin’s suggestion, Arthur kept his eyes open. He wanted to watch, he needed to watch. This would never happen again and Arthur desperately wanted to preserve every part of this perfect memory of Merlin’s hand on him. Closing his eyes was out of the question.

Arthur spared a glance to the rest Merlin. He was a little sweaty, somewhat flushed, and, Arthur noted as his eyes moved further down Merlin’s body, very aroused as well. That image – of Merlin hard, his trousers tenting for Arthur – was overpowering.

“Merlin,” Arthur whimpered. He instantly regretted it, as Merlin’s hand froze. Clearly Arthur had crossed a line. After all, hadn’t Merlin told him to think of women? Stupid, foolish Arthur! He’d let his own secret fantasies get the better of him and now Merlin was going to stop and it would be awkward forever and…

“Arthur,” Merlin panted out. “Is… is everything alright?”

“No.”

Merlin started to pull his hand back, so Arthur grasped it as best he could despite the bandages.

“Not like that. What I mean is…” Arthur paused. This always went so much smoother in his fantasies. “What about you?”

“What about me?”

Give me strength, thought Arthur, he’s going to make me say it. Why did this take more courage than running onto a battlefield?

“It just seems as though you might also… have needs. I thought… maybe… there might be a way we could both...”

Merlin’s breathing grew ragged.

“You can’t really… not with your hands like that.”

Arthur realized that he hadn’t thought this through.

“But,” Merlin continued, “if you were to…”

“Were to what?” Arthur prompted when it became clear that Merlin was faltering.

“Sit up a bit and scoot forward.”

As Arthur shifted his body on the bed, Merlin began to undress. Arthur wanted to watch but feared that the attention might cause Merlin to reconsider. He kept his eyes facing forward as a now-naked Merlin moved toward him.

“Arthur… your tunic… you might be more comfortable with it off.”

Merlin swiftly removed the last of the king’s clothing before easing behind him, centering Arthur between his legs.

“Now just lean back.”

Arthur reclined, letting his body rest on Merlin. He felt Merlin’s own hard cock pressing against his spine.

“That’s… that’s good,” Merlin choked out.

For a time they simply sat there, their breathing labored. Then Merlin wound his arms around Arthur. When Merlin’s fingers grasped him this time, Arthur’s entire body spasmed. It was too much. He was overwhelmed with the sensation of Merlin’s hands and Merlin’s body and… oh merciful goddess, Merlin was stroking him again.  

As Arthur cried out incoherently, Merlin started to move, grinding against Arthur’s body, matching the pace of his thrusts with that of his hand. This was better than any of Arthur’s fantasies. Because this was Merlin. In his bed. Naked. Touching him, writhing beneath him. Enthusiastically. They were pressed together in such a way that neither he nor Merlin could possibly be imagining anyone else. Merlin was here because Merlin wanted Arthur.

That realization pushed Arthur to his breaking point. He could hold back no longer, his orgasm spilling over Merlin’s fingers. Merlin groaned and thrust once more, his body shuddering as he came against Arthur.

They lay there for a while, Merlin’s arms wrapped tightly around Arthur’s waist, the king unable and unwilling to move. Eventually, Merlin gave him a gentle nudge.

“Shove off. You’re heavy.”

Arthur laughed and rolled to the side, turning to look at Merlin’s face. Merlin blushed, then, unsure of what else to do, tended to cleaning and dressing them both. All the while, Arthur was thinking. He didn’t want Merlin to get the wrong idea about what had happened.

As Merlin began to excuse himself and head for the door, Arthur realized that he needed to say something. In spite of what they’d just done, he felt vulnerable, exposed, as he opened his mouth to speak.

“If you ever wanted to… again… say after my hands are fully healed… maybe we could?”

“Yes. Oh gods yes. I’d… I’d like that very much.”

“Good. Because I would as well. And there’s so much you need to know. So much I want to tell you.”

“And you will,” Merlin said. He paused, “There are things that I need to tell you as well. Some good but some… some that might make you reconsider…”

Arthur had a strong suspicion of where this was headed. He knew Merlin had been keeping something from him. Something big. Something that might explain how he’d survived the magical attack with nothing more serious than burned hands. They needed to have that conversation, but not yet.

“Then when I am better, you shall join me for dinner. As my guest and for a meal that isn’t soup. And we’ll talk. But Merlin,” Arthur noticed Merlin’s body tensing, “even with this... with what happened today… I would never want you to change. I want you to always be you.”

He gave Merlin a pointed stare, hoping that Merlin understood that he knew and that it was ok. Merlin held his gaze for a moment, then smiled, relief washing over his face.  

“Now leave me to my soup. I’ll need it if I am to recover.”

As Arthur started to eat, he found that he didn’t care that it was soup again or even that it had gone a bit cold. His mind was preoccupied, remembering what had happened, thinking about what it meant, and dreaming of what it might become.

 

 

 

 


End file.
